Nets face hang time as Jordan hoops it up

Networks to rearrange sked for more Wizards games

TNT, TBS and NBC will be redrawing their basketball schedules to factor in more Washington Wizards games, now that Michael Jordan has given clear indication that he’s coming out of retirement.

In a conversation with reporters in Chicago, Jordan, 38, indicated that he and the Wizards, for whom he’ll play are prepping a news conference in the next 10 days to announce his decision.

TNT and TBS will be the most immediately affected because they start primetime coverage of NBA games three times weekly from the opening week of the season, in early November. Except for a Christmas Day game, NBC doesn’t start its weekend coverage of the games until January.

The networks already have mapped out which games they expect to cover. In order to capture Jordan’s return they will have to rejigger their skeds, maybe even dramatically. NBC, for example, has no Wizards games on its current lineup.

Any feather ruffling caused by schedule shifts in favor of Jordan’s return should be more than offset by the potential for renewed interest in sports coverage that already has a healthy fan base.